🧵 Threads is Winning

Facebook Did Something Right

If your eyeballs saw the internet today, you probably saw the word Threads all over the place. And for good reason! Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp owned and operated by Mark Zuckerberg) launched their new app just two days ago. And Threads already has over 70 million users 😳

Those aren’t just Instagram users that were tricked into tapping a pop-up either. Users had to download a completely new app and login with their Instagram account to start using Threads. And 70 million people did it within 72 hours. Crazy.

Meta is going head-to-head with Twitter, which has been struggling and hemorrhaging users ever since Elon Musk took over. Twitter users have been trying to find a new home while the service continues to be hostile to its own user base, but Mastodon and Blue Sky, niche social networks that no average person has used, failed.

Enter Threads, which despite missing many big features of a modern social app, like direct messages, a feed of accounts you’re following, and native GIF support, is blowing up. I break down why it’s so successful, and why I believe Twitter may have already lost this battle, in the latest video on the channel!

iOS 17 and Personal Voice

Besides all the Threads news, iOS 17 beta 3 was released earlier this week and added some cool features. The Home app now displays a running list of activities from locks, contact sensors, and garage doors, although you still can’t create an automation that alerts you when a door has been open for X minutes. I use the Aqara app for that.

But another big feature is personal voice. When setting up, you speak 150 phrases into your iPhone and a Personal Voice is generated 24 hours later (provided you keep your iPhone screen off and plugged in). Mainly for accessibility, this allows a user to type something and have “their own voice” speak it out loud.

Spoiler: it sounded…pretty bad. At least in my testing. But you can hear it for yourself on the latest AppleInsider podcast where I demo it live!

Why You Need a Clipboard Manager

While we usually refer to it as simply copy / paste on our devices, you can actually supercharge the clipboard on your Mac with great apps like Pastebot and Paste! I walk through why you should use one in this video:

Just for Fun

While I stick to techy stuff on here, usually, the latest episode of my movies podcast with friend Nate Baranowski is really good. You should listen and follow 😏